MEGHAN Markle and Prince Harry are desperate to stay in the limelight over fears their “influence will fall” if they aren’t, a royal expert claims.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are unable to “stay out of the limelight”, despite saying they were taking parental leave.
The couple welcomed their second child Lillibet Diana in June, and have been living in their Santa Barbra mansion, in California, with their son Archie.
Harry, 36, and Meghan, 40, were recently slammed after saying they were “speechless” regarding the current situation in Afghanistan, in a lengthy statement.
Royal author Phil Dampier has claimed that the couple may feel as though people “could forget about them” if they were to take a step back.
He told The Celeb Report Online: “I thought they were supposed to be lying low for five months, it was suggested they were going to take five months off to look after their young family – I don’t think it’s been anything like five months.
“They don’t seem to have been out of the headlines in the period they were supposed to be quiet so it is a bit strange.
“I think they must feel that if they are out of the limelight their influence could fall very quickly and people could forget about them.
“The Queen always says ‘I need to be seen to be believed’ and the same thing applies to Harry and Meghan.
“If they haven’t actually got a public profile and people aren’t seeing them they could quickly be forgotten about which clearly they don’t want. They will probably feel they need to get out there.”
‘LEAD BY EXAMPLE’
Following Lilibet’s birth it was claimed the Duke and Duchess wanted to “lead by example” by taking shared parental leave of up to 20 weeks.
Mr Dampier believes that Harry will feel well rested after taking paternity leave, as he has had “a fairly relaxed lifestyle” over the recent months.
Harry has been regularly snapped on the beach, walking the dogs, and has had “plenty of time on his hands” to keep fit.
Meghan released a glitzy video to mark her 40th birthday as she called on her Hollywood pals to join her mentorship programme.
In the outtakes at the end of the video, her husband Harry can be seen juggling outside through a window.
Mr Dampier added: “The fact that he was mucking around in the background of that video Meghan released on her 40th birthday, juggling balls makes it look like he was a bit bored!
“He’s probably doing all the California things they do – the yogas and the healthy eating and the cutting down on the booze etc so he’ll probably have a lot of pent up energy.”
‘KEEPING TOXICITY AWAY’
It comes after Omid Scobie revealed that the “thriving” couple are “really excited” about the busy schedule ahead following the end of their parental leave.
Scobie, the preferred reporter of the Sussexes – who co-authored their biography Finding Freedom – confirmed the pair will return to public life after “keeping toxicity away”.
Since stepping back as senior members of the Royal Family, Prince Harry and Meghan have reportedly signed a number of multimillion-dollar streaming and publishing deals with Netflix and Spotify.
Prince Harry has also announced that he would be releasing a memoir – timed for the release in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year.
He delivered the announcement on the first day in 15 months that Clarence House announced Charles and Camilla were on a public engagement.
A spokesman for Harry said he told his family including the Queen about the book only “very recently”.
Well-placed sources said Buckingham Palace officials had been unaware of the book.
Harry and Meghan are also reportedly not impressed with the way the Palace dealt with their explosive allegations on Oprah.
They believe Her Majesty did not take “full ownership” of the issues raised and “little” has been done since, according to People.
